Oil slumps to four-year low as OPEC shuns output cut
LONDON (Reuters) – Oil hit four-year lows around $70 a barrel on Thursday and commodity currencies were sent tumbling, as OPEC resisted the temptation to cut back production following the more than 30 percent plunge in prices since June.
ECB’s Draghi warns countries to reform as clouds gather over euro zone
HELSINKI/ MADRID (Reuters) – Failure to reform and shield weaker members threatens to divide the euro zone, the head of the European Central Bank warned on Thursday, amid fresh signs the currency bloc’s economy is losing speed.
Low food inflation tightens squeeze on Europe’s grocers
BERLIN/LONDON (Reuters) – Subdued food price inflation in Europe is unlikely to pick up any time soon, adding to the pressure on mainstream grocers as they struggle with changing shopping habits and competition from discounters.
EU’s Juncker survives no-confidence vote over tax deals
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission’s new president, Jean-Claude Juncker, comfortably survived a no-confidence vote on Thursday brought over news that Luxembourg had lured multinational businesses with super low tax rates during his period as …
Exclusive: France, Italy, Belgium may break budget rules, EU to revisit in March
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission will tell France, Italy and Belgium on Friday their 2015 budgets risk breaking EU rules, but it will defer decisions on any action until early March.
Euro zone economic sentiment rises slightly in November
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Morale in the euro zone rose for the second straight month in November as a pick-up in industry sentiment just outweighed increased pessimism among consumers, offering a tentative sign that the bloc is avoiding outright stagnation….
China’s official PMI seen edging down to 50.6 in November
BEIJING (Reuters) – Growth in China’s manufacturing sector likely slowed slightly in November as demand remained sluggish, a Reuters poll showed.
After zero rates, Sweden ponders next steps to avoid deflation
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – What should a central bank do next when it already has zero interest rates and arguably still faces the threat of Japanese-style deflation? If it’s the Swedish Riksbank, it should keep cutting, and do so soon, says Lars Svensson.
Barclays says its Swiss private bank drops out of U.S. tax deal
ZURICH (Reuters) – Barclays’ private bank in Switzerland has dropped out of a U.S. program aimed at cracking down on wealthy Americans evading taxes through hidden offshore accounts, the British bank’s market head for Switzerland said on Thursday.
Banking tricks blunt China’s drive to increase lending
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China hopes that last week’s interest rate cut will increase lending into the economy to shore up flagging growth, but measuring any rise will be impeded by a number of tricks the country’s bankers use to manipulate the figures.
